Farming | The Guardianhttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/farming
Latest news and features from theguardian.com, the world's leading liberal voiceen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2015Tue, 31 Mar 2015 21:28:12 GMT2015-03-31T21:28:12Zen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2015The Guardianhttp://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.pnghttp://www.theguardian.com
Barnaby Joyce says delay of agriculture white paper is not due to 'crackpot ideas'http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/mar/29/barnaby-joyce-says-delay-of-agriculture-white-paper-is-not-due-to-crackpot-ideas
<p>Agriculture minister denies reports blaming lengthy delay in releasing policy document, which he attributes to its ‘formidable’ content </p><p>Barnaby Joyce has defended the Coalition’s agricultural white paper against charges that it is full of “crackpot ideas”, saying the delay in releasing the policy document was due to its formidable content.</p><p>The white paper was due within the first 12 months of the Abbott government’s term in office, the deadline for which would have been September 2014. Labor’s agriculture spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon says it proves the Coalition has no agriculture policy.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/mar/29/barnaby-joyce-says-delay-of-agriculture-white-paper-is-not-due-to-crackpot-ideas">Continue reading...</a>Australian politicsBarnaby JoyceFarmingAgricultureAustralia newsCoalitionNational partyLiberal partySun, 29 Mar 2015 05:16:27 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/mar/29/barnaby-joyce-says-delay-of-agriculture-white-paper-is-not-due-to-crackpot-ideasPhotograph: Mike Bowers for the GuardianBarnaby Joyce during question time in March. He has defended the delay in releasing the government’s agriculture white paper.Gabrielle Chan2015-03-29T05:16:27ZJames Rebanks, Twitter’s favourite shepherd: ‘Sheep farming is another form of culture, just like Picasso or punk’http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/27/james-rebanks-twitters-favourite-shepherd
Shepherds are disappearing from the countryside — but there’s one in the Lake District who has 40,000 Twitter followers and an acclaimed memoir to his name. Over a day in the fields, James Rebanks explains why he’ll never give up on the life that has sustained his family for 600 years<p>“Be careful,” says James Rebanks. “She’s only just had puppies, and she’s very protective of them. She might give you a nip.” The mother to whom a wide berth must be given is his sheepdog Floss, tucked in the corner of the living room in Rebanks’ farmhouse feeding her 10 pups. The dad, Tan, his other sheepdog, is studiously avoiding his huge new family. An absentee father after just four days. Call canine social services.</p><p>It’s 8.30am on an intermittently bright early spring day in the Lake District – “a bonny day”, Rebanks’ father-in-law, Ian, calls it later, when a sudden hailstorm subsides. Rebanks’ wife, Helen, is getting his two young daughters ready for school; three-year-old son Isaac is playing with his model sheep; Rebanks himself is preparing for his morning’s work: feeding his 450 sheep, most of which are pregnant with lambs. He’s taking me along for the ride. He is riding a quad bike; I’m in a small trailer filled with hay being pulled along behind. It is not a glamorous assignment.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/14/why-are-organic-farmers-across-britain-giving-up">Why are organic farmers across Britain giving up?</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/27/james-rebanks-twitters-favourite-shepherd">Continue reading...</a>FarmingFood & drinkBooksRural affairsUK newsLake DistrictAgricultureEnvironmentCultureFri, 27 Mar 2015 15:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/27/james-rebanks-twitters-favourite-shepherdPhotograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian‘I like the idea that people lead lives devoted to something bigger than themselves – the landscape, the flocks and their continuation,’ says James Rebanks.Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian‘I like the idea that people lead lives devoted to something bigger than themselves – the landscape, the flocks and their continuation,’ says James Rebanks.Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the GuardianOne of Rebanks’ flock of 450 Herdwick sheep – a tough mountain breed synonymous with the Lake District.Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the GuardianOne of Rebanks’ flock of 450 Herdwick sheep – a tough mountain breed synonymous with the Lake District.Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian‘As farmers, we’re invisible in our own landscape – and the book is a kickback against that’ … James Rebanks on his sheep farm in the Lake District.Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian‘As farmers, we’re invisible in our own landscape – and the book is a kickback against that’ … James Rebanks on his sheep farm in the Lake District.Stephen Moss2015-03-27T15:00:00ZSydney's Royal Easter show: terrible food, but a strangely good day outhttp://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/mar/27/sydneys-royal-easter-show-terrible-food-but-a-strangely-good-day-out
<p>Lamington judging, sheep shearing, showbags and dagwood dogs. It’s all here, it’s all at the show, writes Guardian Australia’s features editor </p><p>There’s no elegant way to eat a dagwood dog. I pay $8 and am given an enormous saveloy that’s been battered, fried and dipped in sauce. It looks obscene and tastes like meat flavoured cushion stuffing. I share it with two friends, and we eat it quickly, in the shade by the food van. There’s food you parade around, linger over, savour – and there’s this – a food that reeks of shame, the consumption of which resembles a sex act, and that must be eaten quickly, in private.</p><p>“Tell me about this dish,” I ask the man in the food van. He is Spanish and it is his first day on the job. </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/mar/27/sydneys-royal-easter-show-terrible-food-but-a-strangely-good-day-out">Continue reading...</a>EasterSydneyLife and styleAgricultureFood & drinkFarmingFri, 27 Mar 2015 07:15:06 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/mar/27/sydneys-royal-easter-show-terrible-food-but-a-strangely-good-day-outPhotograph: Brigid Delaney for the GuardianGuardian Australia features editor Brigid Delaney sampling the gastronomical delights of Sydney’s Royal Easter show.Brigid Delaney2015-03-27T07:15:06ZUK drew wrong conclusion from its neonicotinoids study, scientist sayshttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/26/uk-drew-wrong-conclusion-from-its-neonicotinoids-study-scientist-says
<p>Reanalysis of a Food and Environment Agency study may provide first conclusive evidence that neonicotinoids pesticides are a key factor in bee decline, despite it originally being used to support the opposite view</p><p>A study on which the UK government bases its position that neonicotinoid pesticides do not threaten bees may actually be the first conclusive evidence that they do, according to a leading bee scientist.</p><p>Dave Goulson, a professor of biology at the University of Sussex, <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/854/">reanalysed</a> a <a href="http://fera.co.uk/ccss/documents/defraBumbleBeeReportPS2371V4a.pdf">2013 study</a> on the effect of the world’s most heavily used pesticides on bumblebees by the UK’s <a href="http://fera.co.uk/">Food and Environment Research Agency</a> (Fera). </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/26/uk-drew-wrong-conclusion-from-its-neonicotinoids-study-scientist-says">Continue reading...</a>BeesPesticidesEnvironmentFarmingInsectsWildlifeUK newsScienceThu, 26 Mar 2015 07:00:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/26/uk-drew-wrong-conclusion-from-its-neonicotinoids-study-scientist-saysPhotograph: Daniel Acker/Getty ImagesMost studies suggest that pesticides that contain neonicotinoid chemicals are harmful to bees.Photograph: Daniel Acker/Getty ImagesMost studies suggest that pesticides that contain neonicotinoid chemicals are harmful to bees.Karl Mathiesen2015-03-26T07:00:01ZGM crop farmer told to reveal if he was backed by Monsanto in legal battlehttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/26/gm-crop-farmer-told-to-reveal-if-he-was-backed-by-monsanto-in-legal-battle
<p>Judges tell West Australian canola farmer to say if he had help from industry after winning battle against neighbour who lost organic certification</p><p>A landmark GM contamination case has for now swung in favour of an organic farmer facing a huge legal bill, while his adversary must reveal if he was backed by Monsanto or an industry group.<br /></p><p>Steve Marsh’s bid last year to sue Kojonup neighbour and former childhood friend Michael Baxter in the supreme court of Western Australia was unsuccessful.<br /></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/26/gm-crop-farmer-told-to-reveal-if-he-was-backed-by-monsanto-in-legal-battle">Continue reading...</a>FarmingAustralia newsEnvironmentAgricultureWestern AustraliaWed, 25 Mar 2015 22:39:26 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/26/gm-crop-farmer-told-to-reveal-if-he-was-backed-by-monsanto-in-legal-battlePhotograph: suppliedWA farmer Steve Marsh lost his legal bid to claim damages.Photograph: suppliedWA farmer Steve Marsh lost his legal bid to claim damages.Photograph: Caroline Duncan PhotgraphyCanola cropsPhotograph: Caroline Duncan PhotgraphyCanola cropsAustralian Associated Press2015-03-25T22:39:26ZBaja California farm workers demand better pay and working conditionshttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/25/mexico-baja-california-farm-workers-strike
<ul><li>Negotiations between Mexican strike leaders and growers resume Wednesday<br></li><li>Grievances include low pay, long hours, child labour and sexual harassment</li></ul><p>A week-long strike by tens of thousands of farm workers in the Mexican border state of Baja California has severely interrupted production at the peak of the winter strawberry harvest, as workers attempt to draw attention to dismal pay and conditions in the region’s export-oriented farms.</p><p>The potency of the strike, which has included some violent protests and an aggressive police response, will be tested on Wednesday evening when negotiations resume between the movement’s leaders, growers’ representatives and the authorities after a recess was called on Friday.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/25/mexico-baja-california-farm-workers-strike">Continue reading...</a>MexicoFarmingAmericasWorld newsWed, 25 Mar 2015 21:39:51 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/25/mexico-baja-california-farm-workers-strikePhotograph: Omar Millan/apDay labourers work in a strawberry field as they prepare the field for planting. The fruits are rotting as pickers stopped working at the height of the season.Photograph: Omar Millan/apDay labourers work in a strawberry field as they prepare the field for planting. The fruits are rotting as pickers stopped working at the height of the season.Jo Tuckman in Mexico City2015-03-25T21:39:51ZCentral African Republic farmers ‘need seeds to avert disruptive food shortages’ | Clár Ní Chonghailehttp://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/mar/25/central-african-republic-farmers-need-seeds-urgently-food-scarcity-shortages
<p>UN says that without seeds and tools to plant crops, food scarcity could see CAR revert to chaos and violence, and increase costs of any humanitarian response </p><p>Two years after S&eacute;l&eacute;ka rebels ousted the president of the Central African Republic and plunged the country into chaos, farmers urgently need seeds and tools to plant crops and avert food shortages. Failure to supply them could increase tension between communities, delay the return of displaced people, and ratchet up the costs of the humanitarian response, the UN has said. </p><p>Around 1.5 million people do not have enough to eat in the country, where religious violence has killed thousands since the mainly Muslim S&eacute;l&eacute;ka rebels <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/24/central-african-republic-president-flees">deposed</a> President Fran&ccedil;ois Boziz&eacute; on 24 March 2013.</p><p>If we can help to restart agriculture, the main source of income, it will generate stability, social cohesion and peace</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/02/refugees-plight-democratic-republic-congo-central-african-republic">CAR refugees face uncertainty across the border: ‘Death was in front of us and we had to run away’</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/mar/25/central-african-republic-farmers-need-seeds-urgently-food-scarcity-shortages">Continue reading...</a>Global developmentCentral African RepublicFood securityAfricaConflict and developmentWorld newsFarmingEnvironmentWed, 25 Mar 2015 09:00:07 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/mar/25/central-african-republic-farmers-need-seeds-urgently-food-scarcity-shortagesPhotograph: Luc Gnago/ReutersPeople wait to receive food rations at a camp for those displaced by the recent unrest at Bangui’s international airport.Photograph: Luc Gnago/ReutersPeople wait to receive food rations at a camp for those displaced by the recent unrest at Bangui’s international airport.Clár Ní Chonghaile2015-03-25T09:00:07ZWe’re treating soil like dirt. It’s a fatal mistake, because all human life depends on it | George Monbiothttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/25/treating-soil-like-dirt-fatal-mistake-human-life
War, pestilence, even climate change, are trifles by comparison. Destroy the soil and we all starve<p>Imagine a wonderful world, a planet on which there was no threat of climate breakdown, no loss of freshwater, no antibiotic resistance, no obesity crisis, no terrorism, no war. Surely, then, we would be out of major danger? Sorry. Even if everything else were miraculously fixed, we’re finished if we don’t address an issue considered so marginal and irrelevant that you can go for months without seeing it in a newspaper.</p><p>It’s literally and – it seems – metaphorically, beneath us. To judge by its absence from the media, most journalists consider it unworthy of consideration. But all human life depends on it. We knew this long ago, but somehow it has been forgotten. As a <a href="http://www.unccd.int/en/programmes/Event-and-campaigns/WDCD/Pages/Proverbs-on-land-and-soil-.aspx">Sanskrit text </a>written in about 1500BC noted: “Upon this handful of soil our survival depends. Husband it and it will grow our food, our fuel and our shelter and surround us with beauty. Abuse it and the soil will collapse and die, taking humanity with it.”</p><p>Landowners around the world are now engaged in an orgy of soil destruction</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/14/why-are-organic-farmers-across-britain-giving-up">Why are organic farmers across Britain giving up?</a> </p><p>Short-term growth at the expense of public protection compromises long-term survival</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/25/treating-soil-like-dirt-fatal-mistake-human-life">Continue reading...</a>SoilFarmingFoodEnvironmentAgricultureFood securityGlobal developmentScienceUK newsWed, 25 Mar 2015 07:00:09 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/25/treating-soil-like-dirt-fatal-mistake-human-lifePhotograph: Lester Lefkowitz/Corbis'While it now seems that ploughing of any kind is incompatible with the protection of the soil, there are plenty of means of farming without it.' Photograph: Lester Lefkowitz/CorbisPhotograph: Lester Lefkowitz/Corbis'While it now seems that ploughing of any kind is incompatible with the protection of the soil, there are plenty of means of farming without it.' Photograph: Lester Lefkowitz/CorbisGeorge Monbiot2015-03-25T07:00:09ZCommon pesticides linked to antibiotic resistancehttp://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/mar/24/pesticides-antibiotic-resistance-study
<p>People exposed to herbicides require more antibiotics to kill bacteria, according to new research published in mBio</p><p>Antibiotics and herbicides, as it turns out, don’t mix. At least that’s the conclusion of a <a href="http://mbio.asm.org/content/6/2/e00009-15.abstract">study published today in mBio</a>, the peer-reviewed journal of the American Society for Microbiology, which found that if someone is exposed to both herbicides and antibiotics at the same time, higher doses of antibiotics will likely be needed to kill the offending bacteria.</p><p>It’s the first study of the effect of herbicides on antibiotics, and its findings could have implications for <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/may/22/antibiotic-resistant-bugs-health-drug">antibiotics resistance</a>. The growing risk of <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2014/dec/10/antibiotic-resistance-sometimes-knowledge-is-not-enough">disease from antibiotic-resistant pathogens</a> is a huge public health concern, one that was recently prioritized by both the World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/mar/24/pesticides-antibiotic-resistance-study">Continue reading...</a>Health & wellbeingLife and styleHerbicidesWorld Health OrganisationHealthUS newsAntibioticsPesticidesEnvironmentFarmingTue, 24 Mar 2015 21:08:54 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/mar/24/pesticides-antibiotic-resistance-studyPhotograph: Brian Brown/AlamyIn the majority of cases tested, the herbicide made the antibiotic less effective.Photograph: Brian Brown/AlamyIn the majority of cases tested, the herbicide made the antibiotic less effective.Photograph: BSIP SA/AlamyExposure to both herbicides and antibiotics at the same time has been linked to antibiotic resistance.Photograph: BSIP SA/AlamyExposure to both herbicides and antibiotics at the same time has been linked to antibiotic resistance.Amy Westervelt2015-03-24T21:08:54ZCould the TTIP deal undo development gains?http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/mar/24/could-the-ttip-trade-deal-undo-development-gains
<p>How can we hope to attain true sustainability and inclusiveness when vital trade agreements are being made behind closed doors? <br></p><p>UN secretary general Ban-ki Moon has clearly stated his ambition for the sustainable development goals to be the <a href="http://www.undp.org/content/seoul_policy_center/en/home/presscenter/articles/2013/06/26/un-secretary-general-hails-post-2015-agenda-as-most-inclusive-global-development-process-.html">most inclusive global development process ever</a>, saying: “Development, after all, is about people. Their aspirations and ambitions must shape our policies and goals. I am determined to make sure that what a farmer says in Tanzania ... will be heard at UN headquarters.”<br /></p><p>Yet in Jamaica, for 32-year-old sugar cane farmer and mother of four, Alexia Ludford, that promise (and with it the designation of 2015 as a <a href="https://europa.eu/eyd2015/en">European Year for Sustainable Development</a>) is currently ringing rather hollow. </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/mar/10/jeffrey-sachs-economic-policy-climate-change">‘By separating nature from economics, we have walked blindly into tragedy’</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/feb/20/will-the-sdgs-be-the-last-hope-for-lost-causes">Will the SDGs be the last hope for lost causes?</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/mar/24/could-the-ttip-trade-deal-undo-development-gains">Continue reading...</a>Global development professionals networkJamaicaEuropean UnionFarmingTTIPEuropean commissionEconomic policySustainable developmentEqualitySustainable development goalsTue, 24 Mar 2015 11:44:57 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/mar/24/could-the-ttip-trade-deal-undo-development-gainsPhotograph: Andre Vieira/Getty ImagesLabourers on sugar cane farms in Brazil.Photograph: Andre Vieira/Getty ImagesLabourers on sugar cane farms in Brazil.Barbara Crowther2015-03-24T11:44:57ZJimmy Anderson obituaryhttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/23/jimmy-anderson-obituary
<p>My father, Jimmy Anderson, who has died aged 87, was instrumental in establishing <a href="http://www.biodynamic.org.uk" title="">biodynamic</a> farming in the UK. He worked with the Register of Organic Food Standards (UKROFS) to develop standards and inspection procedures in the UK and Ireland. He was appointed MBE in 1999 and, in 2009, he also received a lifetime achievement award from the Biodynamic Agriculture Association.</p><p>Jimmy grew up in Elie, Fife, and attended Edinburgh Academy, followed by three years of national service in the Royal Navy. He began studying medicine at Edinburgh University when he met Pauline (nee Barrington), who had ambitions to marry a farmer. Jimmy switched studies to agriculture and they married in 1952.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/23/jimmy-anderson-obituary">Continue reading...</a>FarmingOrganicsAgricultureScotlandMon, 23 Mar 2015 18:26:23 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/23/jimmy-anderson-obituaryPhotograph: public domainJimmy Anderson and his wife, Pauline, began farming in Perthshire, where they started to question of the use of chemicals in agriculturePhotograph: public domainJimmy Anderson and his wife, Pauline, began farming in Perthshire, where they started to question of the use of chemicals in agricultureFiona Cullen2015-03-23T18:26:23ZAbattoir boss fined £8,000 over horsemeat chargeshttp://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/mar/23/uk-abattoir-boss-peter-boddy-fined-horsemeat-charges
<p>Peter Boddy is first person sentenced in connection with food scandal after admitting selling 55 carcasses in West Yorkshire without keeping records</p><p>A slaughterhouse boss has become the first person to be sentenced in connection with the horsemeat scandal that rocked British supermarkets in 2013.<br tabindex="-1" /></p><p>Peter Boddy, 65, was fined &pound;8,000 after admitting one count of failing to abide by EU meat traceability regulations.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/mar/23/uk-abattoir-boss-peter-boddy-fined-horsemeat-charges">Continue reading...</a>Horsemeat scandalUK newsThe meat industryFood & drinkFoodFarmingEnvironmentBusinessMon, 23 Mar 2015 15:46:47 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/mar/23/uk-abattoir-boss-peter-boddy-fined-horsemeat-chargesPhotograph: Justin Tallis/PAPeter Boddy has been fined £8,000 in trial connected to horsemeat scandal.Press Association2015-03-23T15:46:47ZNational Trust aims to 'nurse British countryside back to health'http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/23/national-trust-aims-to-nurse-british-countryside-back-to-health
<p>Conservation charity, which is one of UK’s biggest landowners, to reverse effects of intensive farming and decimation of wildlife under £1bn plan</p><p><br />The British countryside will be “nursed back to health” by the National Trust under a new &pound;1bn, 10-year plan, which takes the charity far beyond its conventional image of country houses and tearooms.</p><p>Decades of poor land management, intensive farming and the loss of habitat have sent wildlife numbers tumbling, with 60% of species declining in the UK over the last 50 years.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/23/national-trust-aims-to-nurse-british-countryside-back-to-health">Continue reading...</a>ConservationThe National TrustEnvironmentUK newsHeritageCultureWildlifeCoastlinesRiversFarmingEndangered habitatsAnimalsWorld newsClimate changeRenewable energyEnergyMon, 23 Mar 2015 00:01:04 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/23/national-trust-aims-to-nurse-british-countryside-back-to-healthPhotograph: Adam Burton/AlamyThe river Teign in Fingle Woods, Dartmoor. The ancient woodland in Devon is one landscape being restored by the National Trust.Photograph: Adam Burton/AlamyThe river Teign in Fingle Woods, Dartmoor. The ancient woodland in Devon is one landscape being restored by the National Trust.Fiona Harvey environment correspondent2015-03-23T00:01:04ZRoundup weedkiller 'probably' causes cancer, says WHO studyhttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/21/roundup-cancer-who-glyphosate-
<p>The Monsanto product – the world’s most widely used herbicide – contains glyphosate, which may also be carcinogenic for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma</p><p>Roundup, the world’s most widely used weedkiller, “probably” causes cancer, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said.</p><p>The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) – WHO’s cancer agency – said that glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide made by agriculture company Monsanto, was “classified as probably carcinogenic to humans”.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/21/roundup-cancer-who-glyphosate-">Continue reading...</a>EnvironmentGMFarmingUS newsWorld newsSat, 21 Mar 2015 17:12:31 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/21/roundup-cancer-who-glyphosate-Photograph: Studioshots/Alamy/AlamyMonsanto’s popular weedkiller is mainly used on crops such as corn and soybeans, which are genetically modified to survive it.Photograph: Studioshots/Alamy/AlamyMonsanto’s popular weedkiller is mainly used on crops such as corn and soybeans, which are genetically modified to survive it.Staff and agencies2015-03-21T17:12:31ZOnline farm subsidies claim system suspended after IT problemshttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/20/online-farm-subsidies-claim-system-suspended-after-it-problems
<p>Deadline for applications extended and farmers told to revert to traditional paper forms after glitches with switchover to online-only system<br></p><p>Plans for farmers to switch to online-only claims for EU subsidies have been suspended after performance problems with a new computer system.<br /></p><p>The move came after what the National Farmers Union described as “weeks of significant frustration to farmers”, some of whom had spent hundreds of pounds trying to submit claims in time for the May deadline.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/20/online-farm-subsidies-claim-system-suspended-after-it-problems">Continue reading...</a>FarmingEuropean UnionTechnologyFri, 20 Mar 2015 09:46:44 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/20/online-farm-subsidies-claim-system-suspended-after-it-problemsPhotograph: Andrew Matthews/PAThe online farming payment system has been hit by ‘performance problems’.Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PAThe online farming payment system has been hit by ‘performance problems’.Press Association2015-03-20T09:46:44ZSyrian seedbank wins award for continuing work despite civil warhttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/19/syrian-seedbank-wins-award-for-continuing-work-despite-civil-war
<p>Syrian scientists who risked their lives preserving the region’s ancient farming heritage with nearly 150,000 seed samples are presented Gregor Mendel award in Berlin</p><p>The fields around Aleppo have sustained humanity for tens of thousands of years. Blood-torn now, they were among the first to produce wheat, barley and the crops that made this area part of the “fertile crescent” that Western civilisation sprang from.<br /></p><p>There may be little sign of that left today, amid Syria’s bloody civil war, but the few remaining strands of the region’s farming heritage have been pulled together by a small group of scientists, whose achievement has just been recognised.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/19/syrian-seedbank-wins-award-for-continuing-work-despite-civil-war">Continue reading...</a>ConservationFarmingEnvironmentAgricultureScienceSyriaWorld newsMiddle East and North AfricaThu, 19 Mar 2015 14:14:43 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/19/syrian-seedbank-wins-award-for-continuing-work-despite-civil-warPhotograph: Courtesy of ICARDAIcarda’s genebank team in Aleppo. Thanks to their efforts, almost 100% of the collection is safely duplicated outside Syria and 80% in Svalbard, Norway.Photograph: Courtesy of ICARDAIcarda’s genebank team in Aleppo. Thanks to their efforts, almost 100% of the collection is safely duplicated outside Syria and 80% in Svalbard, Norway.Photograph: Britta Skagerfalt/Global Crop Diversity TrustBarley at the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas in Syria.Photograph: Britta Skagerfalt/Global Crop Diversity TrustBarley at the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas in Syria.Photograph: Cary Fowler/Global Crop Diversity TrustThe Icarda genebank near Allepo in the Syria, where scientists have preserved nearly 150,000 seed samples.Photograph: Cary Fowler/Global Crop Diversity TrustThe Icarda genebank near Allepo in the Syria, where scientists have preserved nearly 150,000 seed samples.Fiona Harvey2015-03-19T14:14:43ZWho is winning the PR battle over neonicotinoids?http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/mar/19/pr-battle-neonicotinoids-decling-bee-colonies-food-security
<p>Bee campaigners scored a victory in the German courts, but chemical companies continue to fight the European Commission ban<br /></p><p>When a judge ruled last week that an injunction be lifted on the German chapter of the Friends of the Earth (FoE) so it could criticise the “bee-friendly” claims of a chemical giant’s pesticides, campaigners hailed it as a victory for freedom of speech. “Bayer Group has been shown up as a corporate bully, trying to silence campaigners who are standing up for bees,” heralded a press release from the environmental group. </p><p>But the case, which focused on two domestic plant sprays whose packaging claimed they were not harmful for bees, is just the latest battle in a public relations war over the environmental credentials of neonicotinoids.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/nov/04/will-the-uks-pollinator-strategy-be-enough-to-stop-bee-decline">Will the UK's pollinator strategy be enough to stop bee decline?</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jun/26/do-farmers-really-need-bee-harming-insecticides-neonicotinoids">Do farmers really need bee-harming insecticides?</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/mar/19/pr-battle-neonicotinoids-decling-bee-colonies-food-security">Continue reading...</a>Guardian sustainable businessFoodEnvironmentBeesWildlifeInsectsPesticidesFarmingFood securityFriends of the EarthThu, 19 Mar 2015 13:09:55 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/mar/19/pr-battle-neonicotinoids-decling-bee-colonies-food-securityPhotograph: Matt Cardy/Getty ImagesRapeseed blooms in a field close to the village of Priston, near Bath. The seeds are treated with neonicotinoid then planted to repel pests.Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty ImagesRapeseed blooms in a field close to the village of Priston, near Bath. The seeds are treated with neonicotinoid then planted to repel pests.Photograph: Chris Ratcliffe/Getty ImagesA farmer uses a crop sprayer in a field of rapeseed crops in Basildon, U.K.Photograph: Chris Ratcliffe/Getty ImagesA farmer uses a crop sprayer in a field of rapeseed crops in Basildon, U.K.Photograph: AlamyCould neonicotinoids wipe out bees, or is the pesticide vital for food security?Photograph: AlamyCould neonicotinoids wipe out bees, or is the pesticide vital for food security?Dominic Bates2015-03-19T13:09:55ZNearly one in 10 of Europe's wild bee species face extinction, says studyhttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/19/nearly-one-in-ten-of-europes-wild-bee-species-face-extinction-says-study
<p>First ever assessment of all Europe’s 1,965 bee species finds them in dramatic decline, with intensive farming, insecticide use and climate change blamed</p><p>Europe’s wild bee population is in dramatic decline with nearly one in 10 species facing the threat of extinction, according to the first ever assessment of all the continent’s nearly 2,000 bee species.</p><p>Another 5.2% of bee species are likely to be threatened in the near future, while more than a quarter of species such as the European bumblebees are at risk of dying out, said <a href="http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/erl_of_bees_low_res_for_web.pdf">the study by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)</a>.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/19/nearly-one-in-ten-of-europes-wild-bee-species-face-extinction-says-study">Continue reading...</a>BeesEnvironmentInsectsWildlifeConservationEuropeWorld newsEuropean UnionPesticidesClimate changeFarmingThu, 19 Mar 2015 12:41:21 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/19/nearly-one-in-ten-of-europes-wild-bee-species-face-extinction-says-studyPhotograph: Pierre Rasmont/IUCNBombus cullumanus, a bee species listed as critically endangered by the IUCNPhotograph: Pierre Rasmont/IUCNBombus cullumanus, a bee species listed as critically endangered by the IUCNArthur Neslen in Brussels2015-03-19T12:41:21ZBudget winners: beer drinkers, farmers and charities count their blessingshttp://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/mar/18/budget-winners-beer-drinkers-farmers-charities
<p>Among the major economic policies in the chancellor’s speech were the traditional selection of giveaways for consumers and special interest groups</p><p>George Osborne announced a penny off a pint for the third year running as he cut duty on beer and cider.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/mar/18/budget-winners-beer-drinkers-farmers-charities">Continue reading...</a>Budget 2015BudgetAlcoholWave and tidal powerCharitiesFarmingHeritageFuel dutyCultureEnergyEnvironmentPetrol pricesMoneyMotoringPoliticsRenewable energySocietyTaxTax and spendingUK newsVoluntary sectorWed, 18 Mar 2015 21:00:43 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/mar/18/budget-winners-beer-drinkers-farmers-charitiesPhotograph: Andrew Matthews/PAFarmers will benefit from rules allowing them to average their income over a longer period for tax purposes.Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PAFarmers will benefit from rules allowing them to average their income over a longer period for tax purposes.Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/PABeer drinkers – along with military charities, motorists and farmers – were among the beneficiaries of the chancellor’s budget.Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/PABeer drinkers – along with military charities, motorists and farmers – were among the beneficiaries of the chancellor’s budget.Guardian Staff2015-03-18T21:00:43ZFarming absorbs 22% of cost of disasters in developing countries | Clár Ní Chonghailehttp://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/mar/17/farming-absorbs-22-per-cent-cost-disasters-developing-countries-un-report
<p>Natural disasters are taking a heavy toll on poor farmers who do not have the insurance or resources to rebuild their lives, according to a UN report</p><p>Nearly a quarter of the damages caused by natural disasters in the developing world affect the agricultural sector, exacting a heavy cost on poor farmers who do not have insurance or the resources to rebuild their lives after floods, droughts or other extreme events, the UN’s <a href="http://www.fao.org/home/en/">Food and Agricultural Organisation</a> (FAO) has said.</p><p>The initial findings of a <a href="http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4434e.pdf">new report</a> on the impact of natural disasters on agriculture and food security were released by the FAO at the <a href="http://www.wcdrr.org/conference/programme">third world conference on disaster risk reduction in Sendai, Japan</a>, and showed that the cost to farmers was considerably higher than previously estimated.</p><p>Around 50% of global food production is produced by 2.5 billion smallholders. We have a huge challenge ahead</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2015/mar/16/cyclone-pams-aftermath-in-vanuatu-in-pictures">Cyclone Pam's aftermath in Vanuatu – in pictures</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/mar/17/farming-absorbs-22-per-cent-cost-disasters-developing-countries-un-report">Continue reading...</a>Global developmentNatural disasters and extreme weatherFood securityCyclone PamAgricultureFarmingEnvironmentClimate changeVanuatuTue, 17 Mar 2015 01:00:06 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/mar/17/farming-absorbs-22-per-cent-cost-disasters-developing-countries-un-reportPhotograph: Pool/Getty ImagesCyclone Pam has devastated Vanuatu, a Pacific island nation of mainly subsistence farmers.Photograph: Pool/Getty ImagesCyclone Pam has devastated Vanuatu, a Pacific island nation of mainly subsistence farmers.Clár Ní Chonghaile2015-03-17T01:00:06Z